Preformed sheet or strip of constructional material



D@n 14,1943. F. DQPARMENTER.' 2,336565 PREFORMED SHEET on STRIP oF coAusR'UcTIoNAL MATERIAL Y meg Jan.' 11;. 1942' caff/vr Patented Dec. 14, 1943 PREFORMED SHEET R STRIP 0F CONSTRUCTIONAL MATERIAL Frank D. Parmenter, Toronto, Ontario, Canada Application January 13, 1942, Serial No. 426,606

3 claims. (cl. mm)

This invention relates to preformed plastic sheets. or strips of constructional material, and particularly to strips of asphalt or other material having similar characteristics used for expansion joints in concrete construction.

Sheets or strips of plastic material such as asphalt or other similar suitable bituminous or hydrocarbon composition are extensively used in building construction, being waterproof, weather resistant, pliable and somewhat resilient. These qualities lend themselves particularly to use for expansion joints for concrete construction, and the present invention is particularly concerned with such use.

Such sheets or strips are usually lacking in tensile strength and have a tacky exterior. It is common to cover them with paper or felt or dust Athem with short fibres, iiakes, or powdered material such as talc, with or without an intermediate coating of adhesive such as silicate of soda. It has also been proposed to coat such strips with a layer of harder bituminous material than the main body of the strip. The purpose of applying such coatings to the strip is two-fold, rst to reinforce and strengthen the strip to hold it in shape during transportation and while being placed in position for use, and secondly, to cover the usually rather sticky exterior to prevent adherence to and soiling of objects which the material may contact.

The application' of a coating of paper or felt is not entirely satisfactory because the paper or felt deteriorates with weather and it does not readily adhere to concrete when a strip of the material is used as an expansion joint. Moreover, the surface vof the strips or sheets so treated is not clean inasmuch as the felt or paper is invariably soaked in some oily waterproofing material.

Applying finely ground material short fibres or flakes to the surface of the sheet or strip is not satisfactory inasmuch as it does not give the required additional strength and rigidity' to the sheet or strip and, moreover, it readily rubsoii and does not satisfactorily cover the sticky ma.- terial of which the sheet or strip is formed. Application of a coating of sodium silicate is also undesirable because itis soluble in water and would not form a permanent bond between the strip and the concrete.

The object of this invention is to overcome the disadvantages of the various known types of sheets or strips of plastic building material. This object is attained by constructing preformed sheets or strips of asphalt, or similar bituminous or hydrocarbon material with a coating of hardened hydrous Portland cement applied to the outer surface thereof. Preferably the cement is mixed with a suitable lfiller to form aconcrete. The cement is applied in the form of an aqueous mixture which hardens. Such a coating gives suiilcient rigidity to, the sheet or strip to enable it tc be handled; forms a clean outer surface which will not adhere to-or soil objects with which it comes in contact; provides a surface which adheres to concrete forming a tight joint between the`sheet or lstrip when it is used in concrete construction; is waterproof; and, does not deteriorate with weather.

The invention is hereinafter more particularly described and is illustrated by way of example in the annexed drawingin which Figure 1 is a cross section through a sheet or strip;

Figure 2 a fragmentary cross section showing a strip used as an expansion joint for concrete;

Figure 3 a fragmentary cross section showing a sheet or strip used as a flashing in building construction; y

Figure 4 a fragmentary cross section showing a sheet used as a oor cover surface for concrete ooring;

Figure 5 a fragmentary perspective view of the bituminous body of a sheet or strip, with a corrugated surface; and

Figure 6 a fragmentary perspective view of the bituminous body of a strip with a roughened surface.

In the drawing like numerals of reference indicate corresponding parts in the diierent figures.

The body l of the sheet or strip may be made of any suitable plastic material, such as asphalt i or other similar bituminous or hydrocarbon material, with or without a suitable binder' or filler, and has such characteristics of strength and plasticity as are required for the purpose for which the sheet or strip is to be used. Such composition is pliable and somewhat resilient. When used as an expansion joint for concrete it will compress when the blocks of concrete expand, and it will expand or extend when the blocks contract. By virtue of its characteristic of plasticity it is of low tensile strength.

l Applied to thev body l of the sheet or strip is a coating 2 of hydrous Portland cement. This coating need only be of a thickness suiiicient to fully cover and adhere to the surface andgive it the required rigidity. The thickness of the coating would depend on the nature and size of the sheet and the purpose for which it is to be used. In practice I have found that for a divider strip of bituminous material of high plasticity 1/2 inch thick a coating of concrete of 1A; inch gives the necessary protection and rigidity.

'I'he coating 2 is preferably a mixture of Portland cement and a ller of fine hard material.

Sand or stone grit, ne rock wool, metal filings,

' form and afterwards subjected to vapor, steam or water to hydrate it and cause hardening thereof. A suitable method of forming the body is to extrude it and cut it by a process analagous to that by which wire cut bricks are made. .After the coating is applied and before it dries it is pressed into the body of bituminous material. The sand or other hard finely divided material is thus embedded in the body material causing the coating to firmly and positively. adhere to the body. The sheet or strip is then placed in a suitable curing compartment to dry and harden the coating. l

The coating thus formed and applied gives such rigidity to the body of the sheet or strip that the body of expansion joints made in accordance with this invention may be made more plastic than is commonly the case with expansion joints. A more plastic joint will more readily expand and contract with the blocks of concrete between which it is placed without breaking the joint between the concrete blocks and the joint. The fact that the coating unites with the concrete of the blocks and with the body of the expansion joint forms a tight connection between them so that the body material is not only compressed when expansion of the blocks takes place but is positively expanded or pulled out to keep the joint closed when the blocks contract. The coating being substantially insoluble in water, forms a waterproof joint. The co-eicient of expansion of the coating approximates that of the concrete which it joins, so that it will not crack or break 01T from the effect of temperature changes.

In Figure 2 a'strip made in accordance with this invention is shown used as anexpansion joint for concrete. Concrete 3 is poured into forms on either sid-e of the strip and forms a tight joint, adhering closely to the coating 2. The strip is shown as having a coating on its sides `and ends. The coating on the ends is chiefiy for protection and the strengthening of the strip during transportation and when it is being put into position for use. After it is applied the expansion of the strip may crack the coating on the ends and break it away, but this does not affect the utility of the strip once the concrete has been poured and is in use.

In Figure 3 the strip is shown as used for a flashing to cover a joint between the roof or other horizontal portion 4 of a building and a vertical wall 5. The corner may be filled in by concrete 6 and the strip will adhere thereto. Flashing strips may have the body formed as desired, before the coating is applied to it or if formed after the coating is applied the cement coating may crack when the strip is bent to appl; it, but this will not impair the effectiveness of the strip. When two or more strips are laid end to end to form a continuous flashing, the coating on the adjacent ends may be removed prior to laying the strips so that the strips will be adhered to one another by adhesion of the tacky plastic body material which is exposed when the coating is removed from the ends of the strips.

In Figure 4 a sheet of material made in accordance with this invention is shown as used for a floor or wall cover surface. The concrete base 'I is covered by the sheet and a concrete top or cover 8 is laid over the sheet. In this case the sheet takes the place of fabric sheets which are sometimes used for this purpose, known as membrane by the construction industry. Several objectives are accomplished by this-1st dampprooiing; 2nd insulation; and 3rd sound resistance. The coating surface acts as a means of bonding the sheet to a masonry surface and also provides an inner surface to which a plastic coat may be applied. This surface also would permit nailing of other materials to it. When two or more sheets are laid side by side or end to end, the cement coating may be removed from the edges or ends thereof so that the exposed tacky I body material will form an adhesive joint.

Where it is desired to use a very thin coating, the body. before the coating is applied may have the face made rough by forming indentations or ribbing, as shown in Figures 5 and 6, which the coating will ll, thereby providing a good adhesion between the body and the coating. The contact face between the body and the facing, so provided replaces the pressing of coarse particles of the coating into the body face to secure strong y adhesion,

In all the examples shown the Portland cement coating adheres to the concrete and forms a tight permanent joint with the strip or sheet.

Although the invention and its uses have been described in some detail, it will be understood that the invention is not limited to the details except as claimed in the appended claims.

What I claim as my invention is:

l. A preformed sheet or strip of construction material, consisting of a body of asphalt; and a coating of hardened hydrous Portland cement on the surfaces of both sides or said body.

2. A preformed sheet or strip of construction material, consisting of a body of asphalt; and a coating of hardened hydrous Portland cement mixed with a filler of finely divided material on the surfaces of both sides of said body.

3. A preformed sheet or strip of construction material, consisting of a body of asphalt, the surfaces of both sides of said body being roughened; and a coating of hardened hydrous Portland cement on the surfaces of both sides of said body.

FRANK D. PARMENTER.

, GERTIFI GATE oF CORRECTION. Patent No. 2,556,565. December 1li, 1915.

FRANK D. PARMENTER.

It is hereby certified that error appears in the printed specification of the Vabove numbered patent requiring correction as follows: Page 2, second column, line 51p, claim l, for fsides or" read --sides of'-; .and that the said Letters Patent should. be read with this correction therein that thel same ma",T conform te the record of the case in the Patent Office.

Signed and sealed this 8th of February, A. D. 19141;.

Henry Van Arsdale, (Seal) l Acting Commissioner of Patents. 

